


The Spring Onion of Cornuc

by QueenAzara93



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Angst, Bisexual Female Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Dark, F/M, Falling In Love, Fights, Fluff, Forgiveness, Friendship/Love, Gang Rape, Gay Male Character, Goddesses, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Character, Love, Love Confessions, Magic, Minor Character Death, Opening Up, Original Character Death(s), Overcoming Denial, Plot Twists, Protectiveness, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24097165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenAzara93/pseuds/QueenAzara93
Summary: Gine isn't your normal Saiyan. She doesn't fight, nor does she like to. All she wants is to become a Maiden, the only way she'll be able to be herself. All Gine wants is to be able to help her people, in any way she can, even if it means dealing with societal standards that are severely stacked against her. She wants to prove them wrong, that she too, can make a difference in this world! But will she be able to overcome her inability to fight...well anything? Will she be able to make it to her 21st birthday? Will a certain Commander be able to help her reach her dreams? Will it all be worth it in the end? Or is there something darker going on behind the scenes of becoming a Maiden and the laws of her society?
Relationships: Bardock (Dragon Ball)/Original Character(s), Bardock/Gine (Dragon Ball), Seripa | Fasha/Toma (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm not new to the community by any means, I've been reading fanfiction for as long as I can remember, (about 15 years!). I am a huge Dragonball fan! Anything about it makes me happy! I am writing this story because I just can't seem to stop thinking about it and I want to put pen to paper in my very first fanfiction! I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> This is an alternate universe setting. The Saiyans are still on Planet Vegeta and The Cold Empire has not destroyed the planet.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any part of the Dragonball Franchise!!
> 
> **Updated: May 17th, 2020**
> 
> Bear with me everyone! I've made a few changes to this Prologue! If you have already read it, you should be okay to move on. I'm trying desperately to make sure this story makes sense and that pieces fall into place without being confusing! (I hate reading a fic that doesn't make sense!) Chapter 1 should be posted later today!
> 
> Enjoy!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-Read by: Chosen_Potato
> 
> Thanks bruh!

Prologue

* * *

It was cold, wet, and...sticky. Gine could barely make out the faint voices mumbling outside of the unknown chamber. They seemed to be discussing something in medical jargon. She must be in a regen tank...again. She would have sighed, but she couldn’t do much physically until they started draining the tank and the paralytic wore off. So, she floated, waiting, waiting to hear Dr. Gila scold her for the...6th time? She had lost count. 

All she knew is that once she got out of here and back to her village of Cornuc, the Colonel would want to see her and reassign her to another squad. She was sure that Parsnit’s squad would not take her back. This makes the 3rd squad that sent her back to planet Vegeta after either being knocked out cold, on the brink of death, or like that first time she went on a purge mission, fainted from shock.

She could imagine the look on the Colonels face when he saw her. Disappointment. He assigned all squads and all missions. He was their bridge to the capital, Dashi, where all orders came trickling down into the nearby (or in Cornuc’s case, very, very far away) cities, towns, and villages. The Saiyans were in the business of purging, terraforming, and selling planets to the Cold Empire. It made their species very wealthy, but very greedy, and not to mention it knocked their life expectancy way down, further than it already was. They were known for their ferocity on the battlefield and feared by millions across the galaxy. 

When their mother planet of Sandala became too uninhabitable, due to the massive amount of political strife and innumerable wars between the tribes, the Saiyans took over the neighboring planet Plant. Their current monarch’s father, King Vegeta II, was the one who led the onslaught. The Tuffles, the natives, had no chance, even with their technology. The Saiyans were incredible fighters and showed no mercy to their victims. Once the Saiyans conquered the planet, they used Tuffle technology to rebuild cities, and further their conquest of the galaxy.

An alarm blared throughout the med bay, and the regen tank started to drain. The paralytic started to wear off, a feeling she would never get used to. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth, trying to gather enough saliva to spit; the medicine always made her mouth salty. Once the top of the tank started to open, she started pulling at the cords and wires that were suctioned onto her slim body. The devices left small red bruises on her delicate fair skin, almost like small kisses.

Stepping out onto the cold, hard floor, she stretched, her tail fluffed out and she gave it a good shake, freeing her mousey brown fur of the gel-like substance that magically healed all wounds. _Whomever made this stuff is a genius._ she thought while scanning the room for her garments. She spotted them on a table across the room, sitting to the left of Dr. Gila, who was typing away on the large monitor hanging on the wall. It was her physical report from the regen tank. Sighing, she made her way over, coming up beside Dr.Gile, she picked up her navy leggings and started to pull them over her toned legs. 

“So...any new changes this time, Doctor?” she questioned, trying to get her leggings to roll up her legs. The gel was making it way more difficult than it needed to be, even though her garments were made out of the same material that all under armour was made from. It could stretch to any size, but the gel was slightly sticky and was proving to be a challenge for her. _Great, I can’t fight OR put my clothes on_. She huffed angrily and yanked them up over her bottom. 

After fighting with her leggings, she reached for her black, spandex dress and started wrestling it over her head while she waited for the lizard creature to go over the details of her report. Dr. Gila was kind but stern. He was not a saiyan, he was a lizard species the Saiyans had conquered. Their intelligence and willingness to work for others saved them from utter annihilation.

Most were scientists, doctors, or engineers, but the others did menial tasks like cleaning and tending to gardens. While they did amazing work in whatever their specialty was, they were second class citizens, and were treated pretty horribly by her species. She sympathized with them, she too was treated horribly all because her power level was laughably low and she had no real fighting talent or instincts. Gine had a kind and gentle personality, and she tended to show it more than most would have liked. 

She settled her gaze on him, watching him finish up her report with incredible speed. The ‘tip tap tip tap’ of the keyboard wove into a melody, echoing into the empty med bay, with only the hum of the tanks to join in in it’s lonely siren song.

“No, Gine. I just don’t get it,” he sighed, scratching his scaly, green head and smoothing down the fiery mohawk that ran all the way to his coat collar. She assumed it went to his tail, because there was a little streak of fiery hair peeking out from under his coat. His concerned tone snapped Gine out of her thoughts. 

“With as many trips as you’ve had to the regen tank, you should be strong enough to take on the King by now!” he exclaimed, shaking his head while he read over the report again to make sure he didn’t miss any details.

“Har, har. You know that would never happen - we’d have two super saiyans by the time I could take on the King!” she replied jokingly. She reached for her armour and started to pull it over her head and situated it comfortably over her dress. _I wonder how mad Colonel is going to be this time,_ she pondered, slipping on her berry colored arm warmers and adjusting them.

“In your case, we’d have ten!” Dr. Gila said with a chuckle. Clearing his throat, he informed her, “...you know I have to send the report to the Colonel.” looking at the young Saiyaness out of the corner of his eye. Gine was sitting down, slipping on her boots, avoiding his gaze. Her shoulders slumped forward at the declaration and she seemed lost in thought.

Dr. Gila sighed, and swung his tiny legs out of the chair and hobbled over to her, his claws making almost the same ‘tip tap’ sound that his keyboard made. He stood in front of her, about her height when she was sitting and he placed a clawed hand on her shoulder, “Try to keep your head up youngin’, you’ll get through it.” he said in a soothing way, almost like a father or mentor would. 

She turned her gaze towards him. “Yeah, thanks...I’ll try,” she said solemnly, forcing a smile to grace her features. They held each other's gazes before Gine finished slipping on her boots and stood up. She trudged over to the door, tail half-swinging, half- dragging the floor, “Well, thanks again, doctor. Hopefully I won't see you for a while but...we both know that won't happen,” she said half jokingly. She turned her head to look at him. He gave her a small smile and a nod, “Just do your best, I will be here either way.” She gave him a small smile and her tail flicked happily behind her. Turning, she securely wrapped her tail around her slim waist and pushed on the heavy, steel door and disappeared from sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Gila watched Gine slip out into the med bay hallway, and once she was out of ear shot he let out an exasperated sigh.

“That girl is going to be the death of me…” he groaned, walking over to his desk and climbing slowly back into his chair. He turned to the monitor, reading Gine’s report. 

“Her power level just won’t rise...it should be ten times her level now,” he said, examining the graph. A red stagnant line blinked across the screen. “There’s no change! It’s neither decreased or increased!” he exclaimed, his raspy voice echoing off the metal walls.

Dr.Gila reached for his scouter and attached it to his face. He waited for the screen to come to life, and once it had shown the brilliantly bright yellow writing, he started dialing. 

_**beep beep...beep beep**_

“This is Colonel Taro, to whom am I speaking?” A gruff and irritated voice boomed over the scouter.

“Hello, Colonel, it’s Dr.Gila...”, trying to keep his voice steady but was failing miserably. “I-I have news on...huh? Oh y-yes...yes sir...y-yes it’s about G-Gine…” he muttered softly, rereading the report for the hundredth time.

“Y-Yes sir...s-she’s on her way n-now…” he trailed off, putting his head in his hand, releasing a sigh. 

_I sure hope he's lenient on her this time…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gine stepped out into the med bay hallway and studied her surroundings. _Hopefully Toma isn’t back yet. Maybe I can make it home, and meet with the Colonel before he does,_ she thought to herself, and when she noticed that the coast was clear _,_ she hurried down the hallway, passing more of the lizard creatures and a few Saiyans on the way out. 

When she stepped out into the sun, she released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. _Well, that was the easy part,_ she thought to herself, _now comes the hard part..._ With a sigh she gathered her energy around herself and levitated off the ground. She rose high into the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her freshly healed body. 

_Maybe if I take the long way, he will have calmed down by the time I get there…_ she wondered, as she started heading west at a reasonable speed. The wind was nice and cool, it smelt of salt and water. She was grateful the closest med bay was in Copia, the city was situated right on the ocean. 

As she flew she admired the reddish-orange sky that seemed to go on forever, like a field of fire blazing above a purple marbled floor. Gine flew lower and skimmed her hand over the waves, causing droplets to fly up and around her. She smiled. Rainbows danced across the droplets as they fell and rose around her. The water was cool to the touch, but when the water droplets fell, they were nice and warm. Oh, what she would give to have a nice hot bath right about now! She unwrapped her tail from around her waist and let the warm sea breeze dance through her fur, in an attempt to get the healing gel smell out from between its bristles.

  
_At least I can enjoy the fly home…,_ she thought to herself, smiling. Soon she’d have to face the Colonel and his decision on what to do with her, but for right now she didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about her future on another purging team, one that will probably send her back as well, just like the rest. All she wanted to do was enjoy her time alone and her journey home. Just her and her thoughts. Nothing more, nothing less.


	2. Home-bound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be incorporating some Saiyan language created by MegaKat on FanFiction.net. It's been years since she's updated but she still deserves all the credit in the world! To make up one's own language is amazing in of itself! I will be putting the definitions at the beginning of every chapter! The words I am incorporating will mainly be in dialogue, so they will be italicized to let readers know!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Dragonball franchise!
> 
> Beta-Read by: Chosen_Potato <3
> 
> Na’uch: beautiful, beauty, pretty  
> B’ro: sweets/candy

Home-bound

* * *

Stars streaked by in a blaze of glory, the ship humming and clanking as it sailed its occupants across the black sea that was the galaxy, albeit just a small portion of it. It’s occupants were conversing about their latest mission, laughing and snacking on whatever parcels they had left. The air reeked of sweat, blood, and cigarette smoke. It would need a good scrubbing once it landed in the port, and not to mention a good restock of supplies, especially food. Saiyans were notorious for being big eaters.

“How much longer, Leek?” a throaty but inquisitive voice murmured. It was husky, deep, and could make any woman melt,

A large Saiyan male sat in the co-pilot seat to the right of the pilot’s chair. He was tall with tanned skin, lean but muscular in all the right ways. Scars marked his arms, and surely on other parts that were hidden from sight, each representing a victory the male had gained in what could only be described as very rough, very dangerous combat. Most were healed and only had a slight red tinge to them. Some were short, most were long and looked like they had been deep when they were bestowed on his body. The only place not marked was his face, not a single scratch graced his features.

His hair was as black as the galaxy, and it spiked up in every direction, almost in a messy but neat way. His eyes were black as onyx, but they were closed as he lounged in his seat, arms behind his head, smoking a cigarette.

“Not much longer, Commander Bardock.” replied Leek, checking the coordinates and the ETA back to Vegeta. “Roughly three hours, sir.” he informed, furrowing his brows and concentrating on navigating through a small meteor storm.

“Hn.” He was a man of little words, usually letting his actions do the talking. It almost always involved his fists and...well, if you were a lucky female...

“Hey Bardock! Come back here and converse with us!” a raucous voice sounded from the back of the ship. “You owe us since you scared off our Maiden...again!!” it exclaimed accusatoringly.

Bardock craned his head around his perch and glared. “She couldn’t heal SHIT, Tora!” he growled. “And not to mention, her cooking was awful! I’m surprised you even ate it!”

Toma let out a boustrous laugh and it bounced off the ship's walls. “Oh come on, Bardock!” he said, scratching the back of his head, running his fingers through his spiky hair. Toma was a large Saiyan male, only a couple inches taller than Bardock. He had short, dark brown spiky hair that went down to the base of his neck and flared out in a pointy mess, though you could only see this when Toma didn’t have it pulled back into a small ponytail. He wore dark blue spandex under his armour, the latter of which was discarded off to the side of him and the Saiyaness sitting comfortably in his lap.

“It wouldn’t kill ya’ to come converse with us!” he chuckled, leaning back against the ship's interior, letting his large hand come to rest on the female’s thigh. “Or are you still mad about Borgos getting that kill and not you?” Toma teased.

Bardock growled and shot a hard glare at the much larger Saiyan sitting on the floor, snacking away on whatever parcels they had left. “He only got lucky because his ass is so big he could block out the sun! So of COURSE my blast missed!” he snarled.

Borgos was sitting cross legged to the right of Toma, hunched over his hoard of parcel wrappers. Borgos was the largest Saiyan on Bardock’s team, towering over all of them. He turned his gaze from his meal to his Commander and gave a small smile and deep chuckle before turning back to his prize.

Bardock flicked the butt of his cigarette at Borgos and it hit him right on his bald spot. Borgos paid no mind, and continued munching away.

A deep voice piped up, laughing, “Damn Bardock you need to take a chill pill!”, Shugesh said, still trying to catch his breath. “Promise me when you get back you’ll go find some pussy to take your aggression out on!” he declared, stroking his mustache and patting his large belly.

Bardock shot a deadly glare at him, and Shugesh suddenly found the floor very interesting.

“Oh come on, Bardock!” a honeyed voice chimed in, oozing it’s way across the ship. Bardock directed his gaze over to the Saiyaness sitting in his best friend’s lap. She had short black hair, slender eyes, and a way of telling you to go to hell that made you look forward to the trip. 

She too had her armour sat off to the side, only leaving her in a pink spandex leotard. Her tail slowly wrapped around Toma’s forearm in a comforting way. “We just want you to join in on the fun…” she said sweetly. She took a bite of her parcel and chewed it thoughtfully, “...my question is, whose pussy would you be tearing up? From what we know, you haven’t fucked in months!” She shot him a teasing glance.

Bardock huffed and turned back around, resituating himself the way he was before his idiot comrades started berating him on his...personal life.

_ So what if I hadn’t had sex in months? It’s not affecting them!  _

“Do you have any proof to back that statement up, Fasha?” he said gruffly, inhaling another cigarette, letting the warmth envelop his lungs before releasing it from it’s bodily prison. The smoke danced around his head before slowly dissipating to god knows where.

“Uh I don’t need any proof, your attitude and smoking habits have gotten worse over the past few months,” she retorted, swatting the aroma away from her sensitive nose, “seriously can’t you wait until we get back to Cornuc before you start train smoking?!”

Bardock chuckled darkly, before taking another puff. “Nah, I think this is torture enough for your little comment.” He laid his head back and closed his eyes. 

_ Maybe if my ex girlfriend hadn’t been such a whore, I would be in a better mood,  _ he thought to himself. 

Fasha looked at Toma, and they both shrugged. They turned to their other two comrades and started their conversation back up. 

Bardock sat silently for a few, then he tilted his head to look at Leek, “Have I been in a bad mood, Leek?” he questioned.

Leek sat quietly, praying to Cha that another meteor storm would show up before Bardock realized he was intentionally avoiding his question.

Bardock sighed, turned his head to face the front window and lit up another cigarette. When he got home the first thing he was going to do was hit up the bar, in search of the strongest drink they had. 

_ Well...only a few more hours,  _ he thought, blowing the smoke out of his nostrils and watching it dance before disappearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gine touched down on the dusty, brown dirt, and gave her head a good shake. Her hair fluffed back up from the restraint the window had it in on during her journey from Copia. She started walking up the dirt path towards her village. Her tail swung happily behind her, enjoying the freedom from her waist for just a little longer. She traveled alongside the river that emptied into the sea behind her, occasionally seeing a fish or two jump out of the water in their fight to go upstream.

Cornuc was a desert village, surrounded by large column like structures that mushroomed out at the top. They were made of rock and clay, and they littered the terrain. They were beautiful up close and were great places to watch the sunset. A mountain range ran alongside the east side of the village, casting a shadow over its inhabitants in the morning, which meant more time to sleep. 

But Gine’s favorite part about her village were the poppy fields. They dotted the desert, and when viewed from above...well she’s heard some Saiyans say it looks like blood splatter from a godly battle in the heavens. For that reason, the desert Cornuc was situated in was named The Grail of Blood. She didn’t really like that name nor did she think the poppy fields looked like blood splatters, but she didn’t voice that when she was at the academy.

The scent of poppies danced on the breeze and tickled her nose. The sun’s rays beamed harshly over the desert sand, but she didn’t mind, flying made her chilly, so the warmth was definitely welcomed. 

As she came up on the farms situated on the outskirts of her village, she stopped to pet one of the...well she didn’t really know what to call them. She heard one of the Earth visitors describe them as akin to a deer. She didn’t know what a deer was but she would go with that. 

They were very large deer creatures with legs the size of tree trunks. They had brown fur that was sometimes speckled with white dots, depending on the season. Huge bone-like structures jutted from their heads, one adjacent from the other, branching out like a tree with many limbs. They stuck out so far she’s sure she and Fasha could curl up and take a nap in just one of them! 

They were gentle creatures and she loved walking home just so she could stop by to pet them. Their fur felt like velvet, another Earth description. She always made sure to pick some berries on the way home so she could give them a treat.

She climbed up the rock wall, making sure not to damage any of the structure, and situated herself comfortably on the ledge. Reaching under her breast plate, she pulled out a small knapsack and emptied the contents into her palm. Medium sized blue and yellow berries filled her palm and she held out her spoils in the air.

“Come here,  _ na’uch _ !” she called in her native tongue, “I brought you some  _ b’ro _ !”

One of the deer creatures raised it’s large head from its grain meal, and turned its attention to her. She smiled, “These are your favorite,  _ na’uch _ !” she called out sweetly. The large creature strode towards her, the ground giving away slightly at every step, its fur quivering in rhythm with its steps. Once it reached her, Gine raised her other hand out and placed it on the deers snout while it feasted gratefully from her palm. She gazed up into the creature's big brown eyes, and they sparkled with gratitude and content. She smiled. This was by far her favorite part of returning from home, it always helped her calm her nerves before…

Before facing the Colonel.

She sighed heavily.  _ I better hurry, before he’s mad at me for taking a detour, _ she thought solemnly. It must have shown on her face because the deer gently pressed its forehead against hers, in an attempt to comfort it’s small Saiyan friend. Giggling, Gine placed her hands on either side of the deer’s face. “Its okay,  _ na’uch _ . I’ll be okay, This isn’t the first time…” she trailed off. She gave the deer one last pat and the rest of the berries and leapt off the wall. 

She landed gracefully and hurried down the path, the clay walls of Cornuc coming into view, but the sun was on its descent and she needed to get to the Colonel before nightfall...she knew he wouldn’t be happy if she showed up past his time to go to the bar. She picked up her pace and soon she was running, the aroma of poppies blowing past her. 

_ I just hope he’s in a good mood today. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colonel Taro sat at his desk, thumping his fingers on the hard wooden surface while the lizard creature on the other end gave him yet another report on one of his soldiers. Once he was told that they were on their way he had ended the call abruptly. Releasing an agitated sigh,he ran his large hand through his short hair.  _ Oh Gine...what am I going to do with you… _ he thought as he turned his attention to the two male Saiyans sitting in front of him. 

“I apologize for the interruption, General Nappa,” he growled, “that was a report coming in from the med bay stationed in Copia. I hope I did not intrude on your time.” He linked his fingers together and looked at the very large, balding saiyan man in front of him, but the smaller of the two was the one who spoke. 

“Oh no worries, Colonel Taro!” he declared, waving his hands in front of himself, garnering a very irritated look from his superior sitting to the left of him. He flashed the General a smile that just reeked of ass kissing. 

“Major Shallot, keeping your mouth shut would do you some good when you aren’t being spoken to,” growled Nappa, “especially in my presence…”

Shallot gave a confident laugh and slapped a hand on Nappa’s shoulder, “Oh come on, Nappa, you need to lighten up! It's no wonder why my brother is always in a bad mood, he’s around you all the time!”

Nappa’s face turned as red as a poppy and a hidden vein emerged across his forehead, threatening to burst. “Boy, you may be the King’s kin but -” 

He was cut off by a gruff voice.

“General Nappa, I’m sure Major Shallot meant no ill will talking out of turn,” he shot Shallot a warning glare, “but we must continue on with our meeting, I have other matters to deal with this after and I don’t want to prolong it more than it needs to be.” His gaze settled on the General.

“Very well…” growled Nappa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gine arrived at the south gate of Cornuc and gave a friendly nod at the two Saiyan guards. They nodded back before resuming their position. She walked into the village and passed the various vendors as they tidied up from their busy day selling their goods. 

She watched as the fruit merchant packed up his unsold products and the jewelry merchant locked up his precious jewels in their secure chests. He loaded them on the cart positioned behind his stall.

_ I need to come down here this week, since I’’l be furloughed until the Colonel can find me another squad,  _ she thought, watching the jeweler drag his cart down the dirt road, heading deeper into the village, taking the winding dirt street among the domed buildings before disappearing from sight.

She came to a halt in front of a large, green, wooden door, that was attached to the largest building in the village, situated right in the middle of the market. Stalls were set up all around the building in a circular fashion so when the purge teams came home they got a warm welcome. She got curious looks from the vendors that were still set up and then she got knowing looks from the ones who were veterans...they knew why she was back early.

_I wish we could just move this building, somewhere quiet and out of the way._ , a slight blush forming on her cheeks, _I feel like I’m always put on the spot when I come home._ She shook her head, _I don’t need to focus on that, right now I need to focus on getting this meeting over with the Colonel and then getting home before Toma and Fasha._

  
She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly,  _ Well here goes nothing… _ she pushed on the door and stumbled into the building. 


	3. Crash Landing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Dragon Ball franchise!
> 
> Beta-Read by: Chosen_Potato <3
> 
> Na’uch: beautiful, beauty, pretty  
> Ja’ta: father  
> Ho’sh: daughter  
> m’yo ho-ge: my little (lil) warrior  
> Tah’kha: love, shorthand for “I love you”, NEVER SAID, unless drunk or MAYBE on a deathbed  
> Dra: Sun god
> 
> Saiyan Language Credit: MegaKat

Crash Landing

* * *

Gine stepped softly into the building, the wooden door closing with a loud, heavy, click. It seemed to echo in the empty lobby, reminding Gine she’s about the only one who comes here often. Sighing, she shuffled slowly over to one of the wooden chairs that lined the rock wall. She slumped down, crossed her arms over her chest, and turned her gaze to the ceiling. She could make out hushed voices coming from the Colonel’s office, so she figured she’d wait until he came out to get her.

_ I wonder who he’s talking to, _ she pondered, counting the lights in the ceiling. She knew how many there were, she counted them every time. The tip of her tail twitched impatiently. 

****CLICK!****

She jumped, turning her head in the office’s direction and immediately straightened once she saw who had been occupying the room.

Two very tall Saiyans came lumbering out of the Colonel’s office, wearing blue spandex under white and gold armor, the royal insignia was stamped over the left breast plate. Gine quickly shot to her feet and placed her arms down at her sides and fisted her hands. She also made sure to securely wrap her tail around her waist, the Colonel would scold her if she didn’t. She waited for them to pass but they stopped and continued their conversation, so she relaxed a little, and studied them.

One was almost bald, with just a little dark tuft of hair on his head, and he had a mustache that grew a little ways past his mouth. He was very large, she briefly wondered how he could fit through the doorway. He was as big as Borgos! He looked older than the other Saiyan that accompanied him. He was talking in a hushed voice to the Colonel, who had already spotted her, and was nodding every so often.

The other male, who was standing off to the side of the other two, was lean, and his spiky black hair was swept back except for one strand of bang. It hung delicately over his face. He had no facial hair and he looked to be around her brother, Toma’s age. His eyes wandered around the room before noticing her. He gave her a look of confusion, and turned to the two older Saiyans, seemingly trying to decide if his presence was needed, before striding her way. 

Gine gulped,  _ Why is he coming over here?! _ Before she could think of any plan to escape, the younger Saiyan was already in front of her. He leaned in and gave her a few sniffs.  _ Great, I just got back from a mission, and my uniform probably still smells like sweat, blood, and...whatever else.  _ Glancing up at him, she schooled her features to hide her nervousness.

The male circled around her like she was his prey, sniffing here and there, before coming to a halt in front of her. He chuckled and placed his hand under her chin, and turned her head from side to side, studying her features. 

She knew she shouldn’t pull away, males did this all the time to females, to see if they were worthy for breeding, but she still didn’t like it. She wasn’t a possession, and couldn’t he tell by the looks of her she was no fighter? 

As his eyes scanned her face, she studied him.  _ He’s handsome, but he smells...funny, almost artificial. _ A small blush crept across her cheeks at the thought, but it was interrupted by the male’s voice.

“And who might you be?” he purred, his voice was silky but deep. His tail swung off his waist and swayed happily behind him as he questioned her.

“Gine…” she replied, trying to steady her voice. His interest in her made her extremely nervous. This rarely happened. One, because she was known to be a weak Saiyaness, not good for breeding, and two, because Toma would have ripped his arms off for even glancing her way.

“Gine, huh?  _ Na’uch _ , and what’s a pretty female like you doing here?” he questioned softly, his smile never faltering. Gine stole a quick glance at the Colonel, who by now had noticed the interaction going on and was glaring at the back of the males head.

“Shallot!” the bald one called, “Leave her alone! Can’t you see you’re making her nervous?”

He growled, striding over to the two of them. He regarded her for a moment, then scoffed. “Not sure why you have an interest in this one, she’ll be lucky to make it through mandatory military service.” he sneered, narrowing his eyes at her.

Gine’s cheeks started to burn, she wanted to slap her hands over them to hide her embarrassment but she knew that would be a sign of weakness and to not do that.

_ Listen buddy this is new to me, I don’t know what in the world I’m supposed to do in this situation!  _ Beginning to throw an irritated look at the larger male but stopped when she saw the Colonel mouth ‘No’. She shifted her gaze to Shallot, to see him blushing as well.  _ Well at least I’m not the only one uncomfortable. _

Shallot rubbed the back of his head, “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was making you nervous.” he chuckled kindly. He smiled at her, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief as he looked at her.

_ Just what in the hell is going on here?  _ She dropped her gaze from his and resorted to studying the blood-red insignia on his chest plate.

“This is my  _ ho’sh _ , Gine, General Nappa.” Colonel Taro informed through gritted teeth, stepping between her and Shallot. Making eye contact with Shallot, he held his gaze, a low rumble reverberating in his chest. He may be smaller than this younger Saiyan, but by Dra he was more experienced at killing...well anything.

“Ah. For some reason I thought you only had one daughter, there was never any mention of a second one.” Nappa commented, shooting another look over at the female standing behind his colleague. He stepped a massive, booted foot in her direction and gave her a sniff or two. “I feel like this would have been known.” he rumbled, shooting a questioning glance at Taro.

Taro narrowed his eyes and with a forced smile, hissed through his teeth, “Well when you’re promiscuous as I was, General, they just keep showing up and knocking on the door! You know how that goes...” he trailed off, guiding Gine a little further behind him, out of the way of Nappa’s prying eyes. 

“Hmph. Should have left this one out in the desert, if you ask me.” he said flatly. He turned to look at Shallot. “Let’s go before we are late. King Vegeta will be waiting for our report and we don’t want to keep him waiting any longer.” he snarled, stomping towards the door and opening it with absolute no effort. 

Shallot watched his superior leave before turning to her, “Sorry about that, he’s...not a pleasant per-“

“It’s fine, I’m used to it.” she interrupted quietly, peeking around her father and looking up at him. He frowned, “Well that’s a shame...a pretty Saiyaness like you shouldn’t be treated that way.” He studied her face a few seconds longer then smiled “Well, I hope I get to see you the next time I’m here.” he admitted, giving her a wink. He nodded curtly to Taro before following the 

General out.

After both had taken their leave, she glanced at the Colonel, and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and nodded his head towards his office and they both walked in, closing the door behind them.

Gine sat down in the very familiar wooden chair situated in front of Colonel Taro’s desk. She watched as he made his way behind his desk and plop down in the leather chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “Gine…”

She sank down.  _ Great here it comes. _

“...what am I going to do with you, _m’yo_ _ho-ge_?” he murmured, shifting his gaze to her, concern etched on his face. His voice was laced with frustration and fear and...sadness? She knew she was putting him in a hard place.

“I...I don’t know Ja’ta...” she confessed, looking down, trying to fight the wave of emotion that was washing over her currently.  _ I can’t cry, not again...not in front of him.  _ She wiped her cheek in an effort to keep them contained. 

Before she could scold herself she felt two strong hands clamp down on her slim shoulders. She looked up through teary eyes and gazed into her father’s.

“Gine, I’m not going to give up on you…” he whispered, rubbing her shoulders, “I promised…” he hesitated, deep in thought. “I promised I would protect you....” His voice sounded brittle, and he faltered on a few words. She really did it this time.

“I’m sorry, Ja’ta, I’m so sorry…” she managed to croak out, the floodgates bursting. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her body began to shake and she let out a small cry. “I’m trying my best, I promise I am! It’s just…it’s just I...I can’t…I” hiccuping, her shoulders slumped and she buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the shame from her father.

Two large arms encircled her shoulders, their muscles tensing with pressure as her father held her. He set his chin on top of her shaggy hair. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and cried. He didn’t say anything, he just rubbed her back. She can’t recall how long they stayed like this, she didn’t care, she just needed this.

Once her tears ceased, he pulled away and looked down at her, “Gine, I will find you a squad, and you will get through this, okay?” he said softly, wiping a few stray tears from her face. “You will be a Maiden, okay? Just like your mother...just like Sarada…”

Gine nodded, wiping more stray tears from her face. “Can I go home now, Ja’ta?” she questioned. She just wanted this day to end, she wanted to take a hot bath, hide under her covers and sleep for a few days. 

_ Or forever.  _

He nodded. “Yes, I think that would be fine. I don’t want to upset you anymore.” he said standing up and walking behind his desk.

“T-Thank you, Ja’ta.” She stood from her chair and walked quietly over to the door. Holding her hand out, her fingers grazed over the cold, metal handle, she dropped her head, “...do I have to tell Toma?” She waited with baited breath for his response.

Taro sighed thoughtfully, “No, I’ll let him know you're home...and to not question you about it.” He sat down and his leather chair let out a cry of protest. He linked his fingers together and gazed at his daughter.

She nodded and replied in a shaky voice, “Thank you… _ tah’kha _ .” She opened the door and scurried out before he could scold her on her display of emotion.

Taro sighed and shifted his gaze over to a small picture frame on his desk. He studied it. It was a picture of one of his mates. She had been one of his favorites. She bore him a son, and took Toma and Gine in as her own, with no complaint. 

“What am I going to do with her, Sarada?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ship lurched as it entered Vegeta’s atmosphere, a blaze enveloped the hull as they made their descent towards the ground. Bardock’s team were sitting comfortably in the passenger seats, strapped in by a flimsy piece of fabric. 

They really didn’t have to strap in but trying to convince Leek was out of the question. They tried that once, and he informed them, after an argument between him and Commander Bardock, that they could drive next time, removing himself from the pilot’s chair and locking himself in the bathroom for an hour. Needless to say, they don’t argue with him anymore.

“Since no one is hurt from this little rendezvous, we can land in Cornuc.” Leek informed them, as he pressed a series of buttons to slow the ship's descent.

“YES! That means we can go home, clean up, and go DRINK!” cheered Toma, throwing a fist in the air. Fasha rolled her eyes, and growled, “We have to debrief with Colonel Taro first, dumb ass.”

Toma’s face fell, “Oh yeah, I always forget that part…” He glanced over at Fasha, “Well we can go after right? Are you going to come this time?” his tail unwound from around his waist and caressed her arm, trying to coax the irritated female. He shot her a smoldering look and waited for her response.

Fasha sneered at Toma from the corner of her eye, “...would you stop that?! I’m staying home! Since you won’t be there and Gine is out on a mission, I have the whole house to myself! I’m taking the longest bath possible!” She declared shrilly, swatting his tail away.

“Awwwww come on Fasha, you know we always have fun when we both get drunk…” Toma purred huskily, “...and since Gine is out, we could fuck anywhere…” He snuck his tail back over to her, flicking her bottom with the tip. Fasha blushed and growled something under her breath, and Toma grinned wickedly at her.

“You two are fucking disgusting.” growled their commander, taking a long drag from what would be his last cigarette on this mission. Bardock flicked the butt into the ashtray, landing with the rest in the container, minus the one that hit Borgos in the head earlier.

“Oh, you’re the one to talk!” snarled Toma, “Olave was practically fucking you in the booth at Endive’s the last time she went out with us!” 

His team nodded in agreement. Bardock craned his head back and glared at Toma, and before he could say something to him, the ship alerted them to their arrival. Bardock turned around to see Cornuc coming into view. 

He always loved this part, the descent, where he could view the poppy fields from high above. They dotted the desert in great splashes of red, some hiding under the great mushroom like columns. It took his breath away every time, but he would never confide in his comrades that information, they would never let him live it down. 

“Finally, I am STARVING!” shouted Shugesh, patting his large belly with both hands, and licking his lips. “I sure do hope Endive's has deer meat tonight! I think I could eat ten steaks!!”

Borgos nodded in agreement, his massive arms crossed over his broad chest. Bardock smirked, “Well if they have those I am definitely coming!” he exclaimed, stomach growling. He slammed his fists on the dashboard in excitement, causing Leek to jump, and shout “GOD DAMMIT BARDOCK STOP DOING THAT I’M TRYING TO LAND THIS THING!!”

The entire ship filled with the howling of very hungry, very pumped up Saiyans. Even Borgos let out an audible laugh! Leek shook his head, “You all will be the death of me…” he trailed off, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. 

Suddenly, he felt slender, muscular arms encircle his neck from behind and two soft, but firm orbs pressed into the back of his head. 

Leek’s face turned about five shades of red in under ten seconds, as he stiffened against the female Saiyan behind him, at least he hoped it was her, and not Shugesh. Fasha let out a sultry purr in his ear, “Oh, come on, Leek, you  _ know _ you love us…” 

Gulping, he tried to focus all of his attention on safely landing them. His tail bristled around his waist nervously,  _ Oh my god, oh my god, if I move even AN INCH, Toma will KILL me!  _

Fasha let out a shrill laugh, falling back into her seat, teary eyed, “Oh LEEK! You should see your face!!” The rest of the team roared with laughter. 

Toma wiped his eyes, “Oh man, that NEVER gets old!!” he shook the pilot's chair with his two large hands.

“Have you ever been with a female, Leek?” questioned Shugesh, “Like...at all? I know you don’t attract the warrior females, but what about any of the Maidens?” He stroked his mustache inquisitively, grinning darkly. He knew Leek wasn’t promiscuous, hell he was pretty certain Leek was still a virgin!

Toma laughed, “He probably hasn’t, half of the women in the village have slept with Bardock, and that just ruins it for every other male they come into contact with!” He shot Bardock a challenging glare, grinning mischievously.

Bardock smirked darkly, “I haven’t slept with ALL the women, Toma...I haven’t fucked Fasha.” he shot a dark look at his Lieutenant, “Or your sister...yet...” he replied smoothly, waiting for him to take the bait.

Toma’s face dropped, his goofy smile replaced by bared fangs, “You touch her and I’ll be sure to rip you from limb to limb, Bardock…” his tail thrashed violently side to side behind him, hair bristled. A low, guttural growl rumbled from his broad chest, a warning to any male in the area that he was ready to fight.

Bardock chuckled darkly, “I wonder how she would look under me...her slim, little body…” he made a hourglass form with his hands, “just begging me to take her again and again…” Bardock’s tail thrashed tauntingly behind him, it’s hair bristled with delight at the promise of a fight. 

Turning around in his chair, Bardock grinned mischievously at his friend, his canines gleaming eerily under the artificial light, “How do you think she would sound, Toma? Think I could get her to scream loud enough for the whole village to hear?” He inquired, hoping that this would set his friend over the edge.

_ I need a good fucking fight! _

“THAT’S IT!!!” Toma shouted, ripping through the seat belt and lunging at his Commander. Bardock was prepared, meeting him halfway. The two wrestled around on the ship, causing the vessel to lean back and forth, side to side. 

“FOR THE LOVE OF CHA, WOULD YOU GUYS STOP?!” shouted Fasha, holding on to her chair for dear life. “YOU TWO ARE GOING TO KILL US!!”

Shugesh attempted to get up to pull the alpha males off of each other, but failed, and ended up rolling to the back of the ship, causing its nose to rise up higher than the stern.

Then the ship started to spin out of control, all on board either screaming, fighting, or in Borgos’ case, sitting silently chewing on a parcel he hid earlier. The ship all but fell out of the sky, and all but crashed landed in the landing field. Dust flew high into the air, covering a large portion of ground. 

The ship’s platform opened, and Fasha jumped out and ran to the back of the ship and puked. Between bouts of vomit she managed to get out, “I FUCKING hate you all. I should have joined Okara’s squad!”

Leek stumbled dizzily out, leaning against the hull of the ship trying to regain his balance. Shugesh crawled down the platform, his chubby face tinged green. 

Borgos came clumping out of the ship, parcel in mouth, dragging behind him two lumbering Saiyans. In one hand he drug Toma, and in the other Bardock, both were throwing each other death glares, and baring their fangs. Toma was sporting a black eye, and Bardock’s nose was bloody. Borgos heaved them both up and threw them a good few yards down the landing field. He patted his hands together, and continued to enjoy his snack.

Bardock stood up, spitting out dirt, clay, and blood. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he looked around for his Lieutenant, he wasn’t finished with him yet. Just when he spotted Toma’s lean frame through all of the dust, he saw a dark figure standing just beyond the cloud of dust.

“I had a feeling that was you all on that ship.” a gruff voice called out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gine ran and pushed open the door with a new found strength, and raced to the back of the building, making a beeline to the second set of walls that divided the village center and the residential homes. The wind stung her face, it was cool and it kissed the trails her tears had made, but nevertheless she ran, past the homes of the other Cornuc residents. She reached the entrance that led up to her home, not stopping once to take a breath as she ran up the path.

It was a large, bubbled domed house that had a few rooms branching off from the main structure. It was built using clay, mud, and rock, just like the rest of the houses in Cornuc. The only thing different about her’s was it was situated on the side of the mountain that ran along the east side village as a main line of defense, so the path to her house was a little steep. 

As soon as her fingertips grazed the metal handle, a sound permeated her ears causing her to snap her head around and look straight up to the sky. It was hard to see what the object in the sky was, tears were blocking her vision. Wiping them away quickly, she turned her gaze back to the sky to see a ship careening towards the landing field. 

She could hardly make out the ship's number,  _...03...18?...oh crap! _ Her eyes wide with horror as she watched the ship make a not so graceful landing, dust flying high into the air.

_ That’s Bardock’s ship! _


	4. Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hey guys sorry for taking so long to post, I had a pretty crappy week last week but I am back! Let me know if you all are enjoying this story, hit the kudos button, or just leave a small comment! Those really keep me going!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!!
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Dragon Ball franchise!
> 
> Beta-Read by: Chosen_Potato <3
> 
> Da’ta: old-man, disrespectful  
> Ge’tah: friend/ally  
> Cha: Moon goddess  
> Dra: Sun god
> 
> Saiyan Language Credit: MegaKat

****Discussions

* * *

**_As soon as her fingertips grazed the metal handle, a sound permeated her ears causing her to snap her head around and look straight up to the sky. It was hard to see what the object in the sky was, tears were blocking her vision. She wiped them away quickly, and turned her gaze back to the sky to see a ship careening towards the air field._ **

**_She could hardly make out the ship's number, ...03...18?...oh crap! Her eyes wide with horror as she watched the ship make a not so graceful landing, dust flying high into the air._ **

**_That’s Bardock’s ship!_ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without evening thinking, Gine bolted around the side of her house. Weaving in and around cacti and randomly placed boulders, making her way to the back of the house. She scurried past the hearth and the terra oven, and leapt over the northern part of the clay wall that surrounded her home.   
  


She slid down the embankment, dust and rock flying into the air around her. When she landed at the base of the mountain, she broke out into a run. She traveled alongside the mountain, dodging around cacti and boulders, breathing heavily, praying to Cha she could make it to her hideout in time without Toma catching her on his scouter. 

_ I don’t want to see him yet.  _

She wiped the sweat off her brow, not once faltering, as she approached a section of the mountain where tall ferns grew under the mushroom like monoliths. She was almost there! 

She picked up her pace, her heart racing, until she came to a monolith that had toppled over a few years ago. It was expertly marked with a hidden blue hand print in one of the crevices, you would have to know where it was to find it or stand at the perfect angle to see it. At full speed, Gine slid to the ground right towards the bottom of the rock, and right before she would have run into it, she disappeared from sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the dust settled, Bardock could make out the figure of a tall, well built Saiyan male, standing a few yards away. His hair was short, and like all Saiyans, spiky, and was the color of the desert dirt. He had a thin mustache that was shaved in the middle. Very fine wrinkles were emerging as time went on, but he still looked good for his age.

Bardock chuckled, “ _ Da’ta _ , so nice of you to come welcome us home!” he sneered sarcastically. He stood up and wiped the blood off of his nose, and dusted himself off the best he could. He glanced over at his leutinient, who gave him a look of understanding.

_ We’ll finish this fight later… _

Colonel Taro approached Bardock’s team, shaking his head, “If you guys don’t calm down you’re going to kill yourselves, and Leek doesn’t deserve to die like that.”

“T-Thank you, s-sir…” stammered Leek, still leaning against the hull of the ship. His tail was fluffed and his face pale as the moon.

Fasha trudged over to Toma and her commander and crossed her arms, “Colonel, I want to be assigned to Commander Okara’s team, immediately.” she huffed.

Taro let out a loud cackle, “Oh Fasha, you know that’s out of my jurisdiction. Commander Okara’s squad is based in Copia, you’d have to talk to Colonel Sagia,” he smirked, his tail lashing back and forth, teasingly, “I’m sure you could talk her into it...a few drinks and a romp or two, I hear your her type.” He winked at the beautiful Saiyaness, receiving an obscene gesture from her, before turning to the two males standing in front of him. His face dropped, “I need a word with you two...just you two.” he grumbled.

Bardock and Toma exchanged curious glances, and nodded to their Colonel, who turned on his heel and strode towards the west gate of Cornuc. 

Toma turned his head to look at Fasha, “I’ll be home in a bit, whatever he wants to talk about can’t be good…” he trailed off, shifting his gaze to the ground. Fasha wanted to place a hand on his arm, but thought against it. She nodded, not missing the concern in his deep voice. Toma was great at hiding his emotions, just like any other Saiyan, but she had grown up with him, and was practically his mate, so she knew when something was bothering him.

Bardock watched the two thoughtfully before Toma turned to him and nodded. They gave a small wave, a goodbye to their team, and staggered after their Colonel, who was already way ahead of them. 

Fasha sighed, watching them walk through the west gate. She turned to her other teammates who were looking just as confused as her.

“I wonder what’s going on..” Shugesh murmured, scratching the back of his giant head. “Usually he just wants to talk to Bardock, and he does that here.” He looked at Fasha. hoping for an answer. She just shrugged and replied, “Maybe something happened while we were away…”

Borgos nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’m going to go get cleaned up and head to Endive’s, you coming Fasha?” Shugesh questioned, his mood lifting at the thought of food and alcohol.

“Nah, I think I’m going to go home and enjoy some alone time.” she answered, walking back over to the ship and collecting her things. “I’ll see you all later, okay?” Shugesh and Borgos nodded and bid her farewell. Fasha heaved her bag over her shoulder and sauntered towards the west gate. 

The sun was setting, and it lit the ground a blaze. Dra must have been angry with them, the temperatures had swelled since the last time she was home. As she trekked across the landing field, her gaze drifted downward at the dusty ground beneath her, letting her mind wander.

_ I wonder what happened, this isn’t like Taro to call them both for a private conversation. _

She sauntered through the gate, and headed north up the street. She passed the armory and the multitude of bars, including Endive’s. The stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke seemed to linger in the road, like a hazy, toxic wall. Fasha scrunched her nose up and sneezed. She shook her head and hurried on by.

_ I will never understand how they smoke those things. _

Before she knew it, she was at the end of the dirt path that led up the mountain. She trudged her way up, not stopping once. She needed the exercise after sitting in the ship, awake mind you, for ten whole hours. She passed through the small gate and followed the stone path up to the front door of her home, well Toma’s home. Taro had passed it on to Toma when Sarada passed away. His son was missing around that time, so it naturally went to Toma, Taro’s successor by Saiyan Law.

It was a large dome like structure, encircled by a clay wall. Small cacti like plants dotted their way around the perimeter, seemingly floating like giant, green bubbles over the hardened earth; a small pond was situated on the mountain side of the home, to the right. It was beautiful, and you could definitely tell that whomever lived here had a title. It wasn’t Fasha of course, nor was it Toma, but the villagers knew that. This house was a shack compared to any other village or town on Vegeta. Toma joked that it was the mansion of the poor. 

Either way, Fasha loved the home, it was big enough for her team to come over and everyone had room to either eat or sleep, which happened quite often when they were home. She smiled to herself at the memory of Shugesh snoozing away on the massive table in their feasting room, drool rolling down his face, his big puffy hand gripping a half eaten deer leg. Borgos, being the giant Saiyan he was, would always just lay on the floor near the fire pit, and somehow managed to be peacefully dozing away. She usually found their commander lounged amongst the floor mats and cushions, empty ale bottles littered around him and an ashtray full of the remnants of cigarettes that she told him not to smoke in the house. 

Saiyans weren’t really into the family aspect, their team was their family. Toma and Gine were about the only siblings that Fasha knew of that still had something to do with each other after training.  _ It was probably because of their upbringing, and what happened to... _

Fasha shook her head, clearing her mind of the negative thought, and reached for the door. As she extended her arm, a familiar scent tickled her nose, one that she hadn’t experienced in a while. Her eyes went wide with shock when she noticed how fresh the scent was. 

_ Poppies...Gine?! _

She threw open the door and hurried in, her heart pounding in her chest. She tossed her bag on one of the many cushions that littered the floor as she passed by. She took a left down a hall, passing the kitchen to her right. She came to a halt at the last door on the left, and took a deep breath. She strained her ears for any sound coming from the room, her nose flaring, trying to detect Gine’s scent. 

She didn’t hear anything, nor did she detect the fresh scent of her friend. She opened the door to Gine’s room. It was quiet. Gine’s futon was still made, a navy comforter lying across it like the night sky. Books were carefully aligned on the dark, wooden bookshelf across the room and not a single article of clothing was found on the floor. An assortment of desert flowers hung from the ceiling in their little clay pots, swaying ever so gently in the breeze that filtered into the room through a slightly closed set of curtains. Everything was where it should be.

_ She didn’t come in...but why?  _

Fasha lingered in the doorway for a minute before quietly retreating, closing the door softly behind her. She walked slowly and lightly back down the hall, picking up her bag from the couch once she got to the living room. She turned right and wandered down the short hallway to her and Toma’s bedroom. 

She opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind her. Leaving her bag by the door, she started to strip out of her under armor, leaving each piece behind as she made her way to her bathroom. She flicked on the light and walked over to the bathtub. It was made out of beautiful gray clay, and it was big enough for Toma to lay in. Anytime she was alone she would bathe. It was a personal ritual she liked to do, even though she didn’t get to do it often, so she was going to relish this moment.

As the tub filled with the crystal clear water, Fasha found herself getting lost in her thoughts again.

_ I hope she’s okay. She’s home, I’m sure of it. Her scent is everywhere outside. _

She slipped into the warm bath and slowly lowered herself into the giant tub. She sank down until she was comfortably immersed, and once she was satisfied with her placement, she released a heavy sigh.

_ I’ll go get her when I’m done with my bath, that’ll give her time to calm down… _

She leaned her head back against the tub, releasing her stress into the water, and drifting off into a realm of relaxation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bardock walked quietly through the streets of Cornuc with Toma at his side. Both were stalking behind their leader, wondering what spurred this sudden meeting, and why it had to be private from the rest of their team. 

Once they had gotten to the west gate they swung a right and headed south towards the village center. They passed by fish merchants that had long closed up, probably about an hour before they arrived. Saiyan children played in the street, fighting, kicking, and chasing each other, completely oblivious to the Saiyan warriors passing by. The Maidens watched from the orphanage windows, the few outside immediately stopped to enjoy the view of the handsome warriors.

The Central building was coming into view as they rounded around some residences, passing through the second set of walls. It’s towering walls rose high off the ground, standing front and center in the main marketplace. They climbed the stone stairs and trickled in one by one, closing the giant green door behind them.

Once inside, Bardock was relieved to find it nice and cool. He wiped the sweat off his brow, noticing Toma doing the same out of the corner of his eye. As they passed by the empty, wooden chairs, he heard Toma’s heavy footsteps halt, and he turned to look at his comrade.

He had stopped in front of one of the chairs, nose flared, his eyes held a solemn look and he shook his head with a heavy sigh before turning his gaze to his commander.

“You alright,  _ ge’tah _ ?” Bardock questioned, his tail twitching curiously. He could feel Toma’s ki rising and falling ever so slightly, which was strange for his friend. Toma was usually always pretty level headed, so to see him react this way to...a chair, concerned Bardock.

“Yeah, I’m alright ‘Dock. I think…” he trailed off, walking over to his friend, “I think I know why Taro wanted to speak to us both in private…” shifting his gaze to Taro’s door. “Or at least I know why he wants to talk to me.” He pushed by Bardock and opened the door, holding it open for him. They both took their seats in front of Taro’s desk. Bardock crossed his arms over his chest, waiting impatiently for the meeting to start. He glanced at Toma, and noticed his demeanor was becoming more and more fidgety.

_ Something is definitely bothering him.  _

Bardock turned his gaze to Taro, who was standing at the window, looking out into the distance. He had a scowl on his face, but when didn’t he? No, this was different, something was bothering him as well. 

_ And they say I’m the moody one. _

They all stayed like this for a moment or two, until finally, Taro turned and stalked over to his desk. He sat down carefully in his leather chair, and let out a frustrated sigh. “Commander, I know you have cigarettes on you, cough ‘em up.” he ordered, agitation ebbing off of his voice. Bardock nodded and reached into his breast plate and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

_ This is about the only good thing Earth has given us.  _

He held out the pack to his Colonel, watching him take one, before offering one to Toma. To his surprise, Toma took one. He snagged one for himself before tucking his stash away. They all three lit up their cigarettes with their ki, and took a long puff. 

Smoke filled the room, each Saiyan relishing in the fire that enveloped their lungs. All three were lost in thought and soon finished off their cigarette. 

Bardock pulled out his pack and handed a second one to each of his comrades. Taro took one puff before growling out, “So, you both are probably wondering why I called you here, and why we couldn’t have this conversation in front of the team.”

They nodded simultaneously, taking a few puffs of their cigarettes. Bardock exhaled the smoke through his nostrils, “A little bit, Colonel. It must be serious if you couldn’t tell us on the landing field.” His voice raspy from the freshly smoked cigarette. “Is everything okay?”

Taro sighed heavily, “Not quite, Commander. I noticed Potare came back from the mission early…” his gaze shifting to the younger Saiyan in front of him. “Care to explain to me why she did?”

Bardock shrugged, “She couldn’t heal a single scratch, not to mention her cooking was inedible, and…” he lowered his eyes to his cigarette, “Shugesh said her pussy sucked.”

Taro pinched the bridge of his nose, and took a few steady breaths, praying to Dra for the strength to not kill his commander. “Bardock...you can’t keep scaring these Maidens away. The Kingdom is already short on them as it is.” he growled, his tail bristling but remaining firmly wrapped around his waist.

Bardock narrowed his eyes and retorted, “Then give me one that doesn’t suck.” The hair on his tail rose high, swinging back and forth in irritation. He stared Taro down, waiting for the old man to respond.

Taro chuckled darkly, “Well, I’ll see what I can do,  _ Commander _ , in the meantime, your team is furloughed for two weeks.” His eyes twinkled with satisfaction. He knew that would piss off the young commander, and he always liked to see Bardock get riled up. It meant he could possibly get a good fight in later. 

Bardock stood up abruptly, knocking his chair back, “What?!” he roared. “That’s not fair you bastard and you know it!!” he snarled, his tail lashing violently back and forth almost smacking Toma in the face. He jerked his head violently in the direction of his friend, “Aren’t you going to say anything? Or are you going to sit there and mope about whatever is bothering you?!” 

Toma didn’t even meet his friend's gaze, he just sat staring at the wall behind Taro, deep in thought. 

Bardock mumbled a curse under his breath, and shot his deadly glare back at Taro, baring his canines. “Care to explain why,  _ Colonel _ ?” his voice dripping with disdain.

Taro coughed back a hard laugh, “Sit down, boy! It’s not because your team is in trouble.” He took a few puffs of his cigarette. He sat there in thought, wondering if he should tell the young commander his plan now or later. 

_ If I tell him now that would take the fun out of it, and it’ll cut into my drinking time. _

Leaning forward, he shifted his gaze to Toma, “I assume you have figured out why I called  _ you _ here…” he drawled gruffly to his son. Toma nodded and looked up at him. Taro held his gaze for a few seconds before smirking, “Good. Do not say a word and don’t be too hard this time. Do I make myself clear, boy?” he snarled, shooting a warning glance at Toma.

Toma nodded again and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ _ G’in _ , I promise I won’t be,” he replied. He stood, stretching out his limber legs. “May I be excused, Colonel?” Taro contemplated for a moment, then nodded, leaning back in his chair. Toma turned on his heel, not even glancing in the direction of his commander, his friend, and opened the door. “Tell Fasha I said ‘hey’”, Taro requested cooly. Toma grunted and closed the door behind him.

Bardock stood in front of Taro’s desk, watching the whole interaction unfold before him, and growing more confused by the minute. He watched as his friend took his leave, before jerking his head back to his Colonel. “What the fuck is going on?”, he furrowed his brows and wrapped his tail around his waist in an attempt to calm down.

Taro looked up at Bardock and smirked, “Nothing that concerns you...yet.” Taking his last puff, he put out the cigarette on his desk, and stood up. “Now if you don’t mind, you're cutting into my drinking time. If there are any concerns...” He strode around his desk and came right up to his commander, his nose a breath away from Bardock’s, “please wait until tomorrow, or better yet the next day.” Bardock growled and Taro smirked. “See you at Endive’s.” he patted his commander on the shoulder and walked out the door.

Bardock’s head was spinning. He sat down in his chair and took a minute to process what just happened. Growling in frustration, he stood up and all but yanked the door off its hinges. He stomped into the lobby, fists clenched at his sides. He hated being out of the loop, and to have two of his comrades talk about something like he wasn’t there lit him up. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to punch a lot of things.

_ Fuck! I need a goddamn drink!  _

He passed hurriedly by the wooden chairs but a scent caught his attention, and he came to a halt, sniffing the air. It was sweet, and it was coming from one of the chairs along the opposite wall. He strolled over to it, giving the air around it a few good sniffs. He liked one of the scents, it was very feminie, and natural, like flowers. He wanted to wrap himself up with that scent, or at least wrap himself up with the female it belonged to, but the other that was lingering around was...artificial.

_ It smells like poppies...and cologne? Whomever it was, they needed to tell their man to lay off. _

Turning on his heel, he hurried out the door. He turned right and went back the way they came earlier. He wanted to get home, get clean, go drink, and possibly fuck. The scent back at the Central Building was still on his mind. 

He broke out into a run and ran up the street, passing the west gate and the armory. He came to an alleyway and turned down it, half climbing, half flying up the stairs to his apartment door. He twisted the knob and stepped into what he called home.The music was blaring down stairs in the bar, and lucky for him he lived right above Endive’s, so if he did bring someone home it wasn’t a long walk.

He quickly discarded his armor and spandex, throwing them on the floor. He went to his tiny bathroom, turning on the shower, hoping for hot water. He stepped in to find it was only lukewarm.  _ Oh well…  _ He scrubbed himself until he was satisfied. He leaned his forehead against the tiled wall and let out a heavy sigh.

_ What the fuck am I going to do for two weeks?! _


End file.
